Might the bright lights of New York City beckon Police Commissioner John Timoney?

That's what the latest issue of New York magazine speculates in its Intelligencer column.

The item says that several candidates in the 2001 mayoral race have been talking with former New York Police Commissioner William Bratton and Timoney about one or the other coming back in their administrations.

Timoney, who was Bratton's first deputy in the Big Apple before coming here, denied that anyone had called him.

The subject "absolutely never came up," he said in an interview this week. "I'm very happy doing what I'm doing."

But even the possibility of Philly's popular top cop's being lured elsewhere may have an impact on the mayoral race.

Republican Sam Katz has repeatedly said he would keep Timoney as his police commissioner. Street, on the other hand, says he won't pick his administration before he's elected.

"The election will come and the election will go, and the people who are interested in staying will notify us," Street said yesterday. "I don't view this as any big problem."

Street has praised Timoney, saying last week, "I helped bring him here. . .I think he's doing a great job," but he refuses to go further.

Democratic consultant Ken Smukler said the Timoney issue could be a potent one for Katz.

"If Katz wants to move on Timoney as the issue, Street may be in a box," Smukler said yesterday. "In a race where it's difficult to discern very many distinctions between the candidates on the issues, an issue like this can become explosive."

Timoney's hands-on, computer-aided attack on crime is popular with the groups considered the swing voters of this election: Liberal whites and middle-class blacks.

Katz could use Timoney as a wedge issue to pry those voters from Street.

On the other hand, if Street commits to Timoney, "it might be more harmful than good because it would look like he was caving in to political pressure," Smukler said.

Street said he did not fear Katz's using the issue.

"What Katz is trying to do is sort of pimp off the popularity of a police commissioner," Street said. "And I guess if he found out the recreation commissioner was popular, he'd say, 'Well, I'm going to keep him, too.' I mean what's he going to do? Is he going to start polling current members of the adminstration and if they do well, make a commitment to keep them?"

Timoney, meanwhile, says he wants to stay in Philadelphia and wouldn't mind knowing if that's in the cards if Street wins.

"At the same time I'm not going to prostitute myself," he said. "I'm not going to beg."

A popular police commissioner's retention has decided mayoral elections before in Philadelphia. In 1967, Democrat James H.J. Tate pledged to keep Frank Rizzo as police commissioner if elected mayor. His Republican opponent, Arlen Specter, wouldn't.

Tate won, narrowly, and Rizzo was credited by some as being the difference.

Bratton and then Timoney resigned from the New York Police Department in 1996 after run-ins with New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The duo created and implemented police strategies and tactics that saw New York's crime rates plummet during the mid-1990s.

Bratton is talking about running for mayor in New York City in 2001. And Timoney could be in line for police commissioner. "I'd have to think about that," Timoney admitted. "But that's not in the plans right now."

Timoney did say he wants to stay in Philadelphia the rest of this year and next, but he won't comment on any plans beyond then.

He said he only has one long-term goal at the moment.

"My next objective is to live to be 54," laughed the 51-year-old police commissioner. "That's how old my father was when he died."

Staff writer Dave Davies contributed to this report.

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